According to Redfin, In the four weeks ending on September 23, homes that sold above asking price dipped below 2016 levels.

Their reporting stated only 22.9% of homes sold for more than asking price, declining from 25.5% of homes the same time last year. Notably, the share of homes that sold above asking price has been steadily decreasing from June, when it was at 29%.

Obviously this is a report based on a nationwide survey, as this is not the case in the Silicon Valley. The stats show 102.2% of list price with 26 days on the market in Santa Clara County. True this is down from earlier in the year. Santa Cruz County did decline to 99.2% of list price with 50 days on the market.

Things are definitely changing and everyone has their own idea of what to think of it. Just ask any of the agents in my office. Some sellers are cancelling, saying they will wait. Others are refusing to lower their price and still others look at comps from earlier in the year and believe they can get the same prices or higher. Different market, Different time unfortunately.

Then of course there is this: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met last week and, as expected, voted to raise the benchmark interest rate for the third time this year.

According to RealtyTrac and realtor.com®, October is the best time to snag a deal on a house.

RealtyTrac analyzed more than 32 million sales of single-family homes and condos between 2000 and 2015, finding that those who purchased in October paid 2.6 percent below the average estimated full market value for their property.

Here are five reasons to buy now:

Less focus on landscaping

The market pressure has lessened.

Agents may have more time now

Better deals

Fewer bidding wars in some areas

If you are looking to buy or sell, make sure you align yourself with a professional Realtor who follows the code of ethics and has your best interest at heart.

Proposition 10, which will go before voters in November, would repeal the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act, a state law that severely curtails rent control in California cities.

“Following decades of strong population growth and persistent underbuilding, California is in the midst of a housing crisis. The statewide failure to keep up with new demand for housing, even through the recent period of rapid economic growth, resulted in a shortage of available housing and rapidly rising housing costs.”

Currently the State needs a minimum of 180,000 units built each year and to date there have been only 100,000 new units added.

Realtor.com’s latest report revealed a surge in price cuts and the second largest drop in the U.S. median list price in three years. Although competition between buyers remained stiff and list prices continue to rise, the report also revealed a slowdown in price growth and easing of inventory declines.

Price reductions are on the rise, especially in pricey markets where inventory is rising. The proportion of listings that feature price cuts rose 1.5 percentage points in the last year to 19.1 percent in August.

The share of price cuts among listings is now 1.5 times more prevalent than in August 2012 when 13 percent of listings featured price discounts. This upward movement was more pronounced in major metropolitan areas in the last year including: Seattle with an 8% increase in cuts; San Jose with a 7% increase; and a 5% increase in San Diego, Riverside, Indianapolis and Los Angeles. In fact, 39 of the 45 largest markets saw an increase in the share of price cuts over last year.

In Santa Clara County, list to sale price ratio has dropped from 112.3% in April to 104.1% in July.

The positive forces of faster economic growth and steady hiring are being met by the negative forces of higher home prices and mortgage rates. Even with slightly more homeowners putting their home on the market, inventory is still subpar and not meeting demand. As a result, “affordability constraints are pricing out some would-be buyers and keeping overall sales activity below last year’s pace.” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

Home price growth remains swift, and listings are still going under contract at a robust pace in most of the country, which indicates that even with rising inventory in many markets, demand still significantly outpaces what’s available for sale,” Yun says. However, if this trend of increasing supply continues in the months ahead, prospective buyers will hopefully begin to see more choices and softer price growth.

That is if mortgage rates hovering near a seven-year high create affordability challenges for prospective buyers looking to close on a home purchase.

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Santa Cruz has seen DOM increase since the first of the year from 24 to 28 days in July and inventory from 62 in January to 135 units in July.

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Aptos has seen DOM decrease since the first of the year from 38 to 26 days in July and inventory increase from 39 in January to 72 units in July.

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Capitola has seen DOM decrease since the first of the year from 29 to 7 days in July and inventory increase from 7 in January to 12 units in July.

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San Jose has seen DOM increase since the first of the year from 14 to 16 days in July and inventory increase from 277 in January to 660 units in July.

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Sunnyvale has seen DOM increase since the first of the year from 11 to 17 days in July and inventory increase from 22 in January to 59 units in July.

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Mountain View has seen DOM increase since the first of the year from 11 to 18 days in July and inventory increase from 7 in January to 14 units in July.

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Cupertino has seen DOM increase since the first of the year from 13 to 14 days in July and inventory increase from 13 in January to 27 units in July.

Earlier this year, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) began the historic effort to address California’s unprecedented housing supply crisis as well as to increase homeownership opportunities for Californians by gathering nearly 1 million signatures—enough to qualify the Property Tax Fairness Initiative for the General Election Ballot.

The initiative would eliminate the “moving penalty” for seniors 55 and older, the disabled, and victims of natural disasters, allowing them to carry their current Proposition 13-protected property tax assessment level to another home of any price, anywhere in the state, any number of times.

The November 2020 ballot initiative will move portability forward while at the same time generating revenue for schools and local governments by: 1) requiring reassessment in connection with inter-generational transfers where heirs keep property for investment purposes; and 2) tightening up the reassessment law to address corporate property transfers where “creative” efforts are used to avoid reassessment.

Big 3 Factors Driving Housing Demand

As if California isn’t fascinating enough to us all, the housing market here is the talk of the real estate world as well.

Along with becoming the 6th largest economy, California’s housing market has been the best performing of any and that’s music to the ears of investors. California has less owners with negative equity and fewer delinquent mortgages.

For the first time in 11 years, the statewide median home price in California surpassed its previous peak and rose to $600,860, which was recorded more than 10 years ago during the last housing boom. The median home value in the United States is $216,000.

76% of the highest priced real estate markets in the USA are in California.

Keep an eye on these key projected figures. Governments will have to raise mortgage rates, reduce tax benefits, and stiffen mortgage qualification rules to discourage buyers.

Home values have been rising for six straight years, and the gains have been accelerating for the past two years. Unlike the last housing boom, the gains are not driven by fast and easy mortgage money, but instead by solid buyer demand and very low supply. Still, like the last housing boom, some are starting to warn these price gains cannot continue.

“The continuing run-up in home prices above the pace of income growth is simply not sustainable,” wrote Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “From the cyclical low point in home prices six years ago, a typical home price has increased by 48 percent while the average wage rate has grown by only 14 percent.”

Santa Clara County’s single family median home price in 2012 was $635,000 as compared to $1,400,000 today. Santa Cruz County’s single family median home price in 2012 was $500,900 as compared to $869,000 today. San Mateo County’s single family median home price in 2012 was $735,000 as compared to $1,600,000 today.

Coming or Going?

Real estate aggregate site Redfin released another of its quarterly “migration reports” last week, presenting much the same findings as its previous reports: The site still ranks San Francisco as the city with the highest “net outflow”.

As in the past, Redfin attests that Sacramento is the city San Franciscans peruse most often, with Seattle, Washington remaining the most common out of state prospect.

The biggest beneficiary of California fallout, according to Trulia: Las Vegas, Nevada, where 8.1 percent of fleeing Golden Staters end up, followed by New York City at 7.3 percent. Phoenix, Arizona came in third on the list at seven percent even with Dallas, Texas moving into fourth place at 5.5 percent. Seattle rounded out the top five at 5.1 percent.

However, Trulia does caution, “The data captures job-to-job moves specifically and may not capture the full picture of migration”.